Reason to Love Christmas
by FaberryAchelefan16
Summary: Carter hates Christmas and Rosie has to help her change her mood. Femmslash. don't like don't read. Merry Christmas everyone!


"Ed, why are we here?" I asked realizing he had lied and that we were at the mall.

"Carter, it's almost Christmas you need a present for your dad." I looked at him as he passed a swarm of people.

"No I don't. I got him everything he said he wanted besides you know I hate Christmas." I looked around at the mindless people traveling from store to store.

He opened his mouth to object but closed it and shook his head before opting to answer, "Okay, then I need to shop and didn't want to come alone." I spotted the reigning popular girls who hated me Brooke and Chelsea and looked at Ed again.

"I'm going to sit and you can come find me when you're done."

He looked at me for a few seconds before saying, "Fine, but stay in one place I don't want to lose you." I pulled him back to the food court.

"I'll be here unless I'm in line. I'll text if you I lose the table."

"Ok." He said with a faint smile. He walked away and after a couple of minutes I realized I was thirsty so I stood up and walked over to get a diet coke. After getting my drink I headed back to the table I was at before and saw a pretty girl with brown hair dressed in jeans and a pink shirt. Her eyes met mine and I felt my stomach jump.

She waved and said, "I am Rosalinda, but you may call me Rosie." Luckily I was close enough to hear to her low voice over the din of people.

"I'm Carter." I looked around for another table and couldn't find an empty one.

"Are you looking for someone?" she asked in a proper tone.

"Just waiting for my friend, he went Christmas shopping."

"You may sit here." She said smiling.

"Ok. You're not waiting for someone?" I asked sitting down.

"No, I am alone today."

"Oh." We were quiet as I searched my brain for a reason to talk.

"Why aren't you Christmas shopping?" she finally asked.

"I'm already done. I only had two people to buy for."

"Oh." She said and I felt myself blush by her tone.

"So, aren't you shopping?" I asked as a change of subject from me.

"No, I came to people watch."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I like to see people when they least expect it and when it's busy."

"Ok." I felt nervous as I looked around not knowing what to say.

"Do you want to play a game?" she asked and I looked at her confused.

"What's the game?"

"My friend taught me. You watch people and predict their life." She was still smiling and I wondered if this was the way she always was.

"You go first." I said figuring I had nothing better to do. She looked around for a minute before secretly pointing to a couple standing a few feet away from us.

"She's thinking about how much money she could spend before her husband notices and he's thinking of the football game he's missing."

"How do we know if we're right?" I asked expecting more.

"We don't, that's the fun part."

"So how do we know who wins?"

"It's whoever comes up with the craziest." She explained and I felt annoyed until she looked into my eyes and I saw a sparkle in them. To divert I looked up and pointed to a group of four girls who were sitting at a table, but not talking or looking at each other.

"They've all been friends since elementary school and one of them just said that they were gay."

She looked at me surprised. "Why would you say that?" I looked at her sadly.

"I've seen that look before." She nodded.

"I have too. I was just surprised you would say that." I looked at her with a faint smile until I let reality set in.

"You mean someone around you came out?" she shook her head.

"A year ago, I came out to my mother and friends."

"Oh, I came out to my dad and friend last year too." I said never having thought a girl as hot as her would be gay.

She smiled and asked, "How'd they take it?"

"They weren't surprised." I replied and added, "I've never had crushes and I'm a tomboy. How did your mom take it?"

"It took getting used to. At first I thought she was disappointed, but then I realized she was just shocked."

"Huh that's cool, 'cause I hear when you come out to a mom they are disappointed you won't give them grandchildren."

She thought before answering, "She's a big believer on true love. She married my father even though they weren't at the same status."

"Status?"

"He was a prince and she was a peasant."

"Oh."

We were quiet again until she said, "I'm sorry, but I am confused. Do you not have a mother?" I looked away starting to feel hurt and angry at the thought of my mom, but stopped myself when I looked at her innocent face.

"My mom died in a car accident when I was little."

"I am sorry, Carter. My father died when I was a child also."

I felt comfort from her smile and said, "Looks like you and I have a lot in common."

"It appears we do."

We shared a look until I asked, "Why haven't I seen you around before?"

"I am not from here." I felt my heart sink in my chest.

"Just visiting?" I asked trying to hide my disappointment.

"I do not know yet. I know of some queens who live away from their country." I felt all air escape my lungs.

"Uh, what did you say?"

"I do not know if I'm going to stay here or not?" she asked confused.

"No, did you say you were a queen?"

"Yes, I am the queen of Costa Luna." She says proudly and I can't help but feel a chill run down my spine.

"Ok, at least you're honest." For some reason that I couldn't name I felt like I had been betrayed. "Well, Rosie it was nice meeting you, but I'm gonna go find my friend." I stood up to leave, but she stopped me with her hand on my wrist.

"What? Why can you not stay?" I looked at her pleading eyes and found myself answering.

"I have a problem with princesses and queens are a step up."

"Then you have not met good princesses." Just then as if on cue Chelsea and Brooke passed us and gave me a dirty look.

"Aww, look Chels Carter's got herself a girlfriend." They walked away laughing and I felt anger all over my body until I looked back down and saw Rosie's sweet face.

"They're the princesses I know."

"They are not good examples. Please sit and I will explain." She let go of my wrist and it immediately felt cold. She waited for me to sit before she spoke, "Princesses are not all stuck up. We try to help others, and to speak for myself I want to make a difference and wish not to be called queen. I want to be called friend by those who accept me." I felt my heart melt and a smile form on my face.

"I'm sorry I judged so quickly."

Rosie smiled and said, "It is okay."

I grabbed her hand as I asked, "Tell me about your country." We talked for an hour and Ed came back.

"Carter, you ready to go?" I looked up at him and he looked from me to Rosie.

I stood as I said, "Uh, yeah, I'll call you Rosie." I walked away and followed Ed, but still shot a look behind me before we walked out the door.

"Who was she?" Ed asked when we had gotten to the car.

"Rosie." I answered and he sighed.

"I got that, tell me more." I couldn't stop smiling and I soon found myself saying what I had learned from Rosie.

"You do realize that a queen is only a princess but more, right?" he asked when I was finished and I looked at him.

"Yeah, but she's different."

"Ok." He said as he pulled up to my house.

"See ya Ed." I got out and skipped through my front door and toward my room.

"How was hanging out with Ed?" I heard my dad ask as I passed him sitting on the couch.

"Good." I said, turning to face him.

"Why are you so happy?" he asked, seeing my smile.

"I met a queen at the mall." He stood up with wide eyes.

"Please tell me you didn't hit her."

"I didn't hit her. We actually talked for a while."

"That's good, then. Did you get her number?" he replied still standing surprised.

"Of course."

"Good. What do you want for dinner?" We ate dinner and played cards like we did every night, but the whole time I was thinking about Rosie.

"Wow, Carter are you still thinking about her?" my dad asked pulling me out of my daydream for the hundredth time. I blushed and lowered my head. "What makes her different than the girls at school or that you've dated?" he asked quietly.

I lifted my head to look in his eyes and respond, "Rosie's not an idiot for one, and she's prettier than any girl I've ever met." I looked at my dad nervous and afraid of his reaction, but he looked proud.

"My little Carter's growing up." He said standing up and walking over to hug me.

"Dad, I've dated before." I said as he pulled me up into his arms.

"I know, but you've never said that about a girl." I thought back to the girls I've dated and then thought about Rosie and the mere thought of her proper speech and eyes made my heart skip a beat before beating faster than it ever had.

"Before I forget, I'm going to the cemetery tomorrow. Do you want to come?" he asked releasing me and sitting back down. I remained standing and felt all joy leave my body and lump form in my throat.

"No." I replied starting to walk away.

"You have to visit her grave sometime." He shot to my back and I turned around looking him straight in the face.

"No, I don't." I walked into my room and slammed my door.

_I looked around the empty room. The walls and ceiling were white and not a color on them to show their existence._

"_Hello?" I yelled and saw a women come into my view. She was too far away from me too tell who she was but as she kept walking closer she became more recognizable. Finally she was standing in front of me dressed in a white jumpsuit that matched the walls._

"_Carter you look good." She said and I felt tears spring to my eyes, but I stopped them not wanting her to see my weakness._

"_Mom, what are you doing here?" her smiled dropped at my tone._

"_I came to warn you."_

"_Warn me of what?" I asked nervous._

"_You need to stop being a Grinch." She said and I scoffed._

"_Excuse me, but when your mom dies right before Christmas you tend to hate the holiday." I looked around again for a door._

"_I realize that honey, but . . ." she reached forward to grab my hand but I pulled it away._

"_Don't. Just talk." _

_She pulled back and continued, "Learn to love it again. It used to be your favorite time of year."_

"_How do I do that?" I felt angry and desperate for an escape. _

"_I sent someone to help you. You just need to ask for it."_

"_Who'd you send?"_

"_I can't tell you, but you're smart enough to figure it out." With these words she vanished and I stood in the white room again. _

_I threw back my head and yelled, "That's not helpful!"_

I opened my eyes to find myself sitting up in my bed. I looked to the clock next to me and saw it was only three in the morning and knew I couldn't fall asleep again. I got up and tried to clear my head of the dream but spent the day with the voice in my head, "_Who could she have sent?"_ I thought while sitting in the bait shop waiting for customers.

"Carter?" I heard my dad's voice say behind me.

"Yeah, Dad?" I tried to say calmly with my heart thumping in my chest but my voice cracked.

"Still thinking about Rosie, I see. My advice is to call her and ask her out." A thought hit me with his words.

"Thanks Dad. I'm gonna go do that." I stood up but he stopped me.

"Whoa, you still have to work. You can call her later."

"Ok, fine." I sat back down and he smiled.

"I'm leaving you in charge and I'll be back in an hour."

"Ok." I said as I remembered his reason for leaving and the dream I had last night. He left and I sat bored, only helping a couple of customers. My dad came home when he said he would and after we said hi I ran to my room to call Rosie.

"Hello." I heard her say after two rings.

"Hey, Rosie it's Carter." I said suddenly nervous.

"Carter, I am glad you called."

I felt more confidence as I asked, "Do you like Christmas?"

She seemed surprised by my question as she answered, "Of course, doesn't everyone?"

Instead of answering I said, "Well, would you like to go out with me and show me why?"

"Ok." She said and I smiled.

"Cool. Do you want to meet me at the mall tomorrow at one?"

"We could meet at the same table." She offered and I laughed.

"Sounds great, I'll see you tomorrow Rosie." We hung up and I felt my stomach doing somersaults. That night I didn't sleep mostly out of excitement, but also fear that I might dream about my mom again. I woke up at ten and quickly took a shower and got ready. I didn't have many chores so I spent two hours surfing through channels and looking at the clock incessantly. Finally after not being able to sit any longer I left for the mall a half an hour early. When I got to the table, to my amusement, I noticed Rosie sitting in the same seat.

"Weren't we supposed to meet at one?" I asked smiling at her to show I wasn't mad.

"Yes, but I was anxious and left early." She replied and I smiled wider as I sat down.

"It's okay. I left early too, as you can see." She smiled and stood up.

"We have much to do so let us go."

"What are we doing?" I asked surprised.

"You will see." She said grabbing my wrist and pulling me into the nearest toy store.

"We're gonna play with toys?" I asked incredulously.

"No, of course not, we are going to buy toys for children at the orphanage."

"Oh." I said shocked, but still looking around for toys to buy. I looked on the shelves and found a toy that I had had as a kid.

"Rosie." I called excited.

"Yes?" she replied walking out of an aisle of dolls.

"This was my favorite toy when I was six." I explained showing her a black stuffed dog. "I never left it alone. My dad had to steal it while I was sleeping to wash it." She looked at me and smiled so wide it reached her eyes.

"Do you still have it?"

"No, when I turned ten it fell apart, but I never forgot about it."

"Hmm." She replied thinking before looking at me and adding, "Come on let's get some toys for little ones so we can deliver them before it gets dark."

"Why before dark?" I asked as she pulled me through the aisles.

"We're going to see the lights and get a Christmas tree so we can decorate it. We must hurry." I stopped and pulled my wrist free and she looked back at me surprised.

"You planned a lot."

"I only planned what I like to do on Christmas now come on." I went without objection and after playing with some of them we got as many presents as Rosie said we needed. We walked out of the mall and got into her car to drive to a small orphanage that I didn't know existed. The smile and squeals of excitement we were greeted with made my heart and stomach warm. I helped Rosie hand out the presents and stayed long enough to watch them play with them. Rosie and I both had smiles on our face as the workers said thank you while we were walking out. We then drove to a park that was decorated with all kinds of lights. I offered to pay for myself, but Rosie beat me.

"Please let me pay." She said and I nodded surprisingly not feeling the desire to fight her. The lights were all arranged in special patterns and as we walked around Rosie would excitedly point to one. Half way through we got cold and bought hot chocolate. While walking with our steaming cups of coco in hand I found myself standing closer to Rosie. I didn't realize until later, but she kept inching closer to me too. We finished our coco at the same time that we had walked through everything in the park.

"Are you having fun?" she asked when we'd gotten to her car.

"Surprisingly yes, you are a fun person to hang out with, Rosie."

"Thank you. I enjoy spending time with you too Carter." We drove to a place that sells tress and after searching for twenty minutes bought a small one that Rosie said would be perfect for her apartment.

"Would you have done this even if I wasn't here?" I asked on the drive to Rosie's apartment. She thought for a moment before answering.

"Maybe not the lights, but yes I would have."

"Ok." I said smiling. I found it easy to talk to her and felt the night going by faster than I wanted it to. We talked while decorating her tree with soft Christmas music playing on her CD player. When we finished decorating we ate soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

"I don't know what you like so I just made something simple. If you don't like it I can get you something else." She explained as she handed me a cup and plate.

"It's fine, Rosie. Thank you." I assured her taking a bite of the sandwich. "It's good." She smiled and started eating her soup.

We ate in silence until she looked at me thoughtfully and asked, "Do you like Christmas?" I felt surprised by her question and had to collect myself before I shook my head. "Why?"

I sighed before I put my food down and looking in her eyes explained, "When I was four my mom died in a car accident. It was six days before Christmas and the next year and every year until I turned nine I wished "Santa" for my mom to come back, but she never did so every year it's just a reminder that she's gone."

"Carter I am sorry." I waited for her to continue to offer what so many others have, unwanted advice, but she never did and I smiled.

"Will you come to my house on Christmas or are you going home?" I asked feeling confident.

"I would love to go to home if I am not an imposition." She replies looking at her plate.

"You would be welcomed, but I must warn you my dad and best friend are weird and say really strange things." I explained thinking they might embarrass me.

"My mom is the same way." She says smiling and looking into my eyes. I looked from her eyes to her lips before I leaned in and lightly pressed my lips to her own. Even though the kiss was short I felt a shock that I'd never felt before. I kept my eyes closed and breathed in and out to keep my heart from shooting out of my chest.

"Carter." I heard Rosie whisper and I slowly opened my eyes to see her looking at me nervously. I looked deeper into her eyes and smiled before placing my hand on the back of her neck and pulling her to my lips again. We kissed harder and the spark I had felt the first time was still there only intensified. She pulled away first much to my disappointment.

"That was my first kiss." She whispered and I opened my eyes surprised. I didn't know what to say, but thankfully she added, "I enjoyed it."

"I did too." We were quiet as we went back to eating.

We finished and sat watching the tree before Rosie said, "I wish to kiss you again." I smiled and looked at her.

"You don't have to ask." I said leaning forward and capturing her lips again. I nervously tested how far Rosie would let me go as I slid my tongue over her lips. She pulled away and I felt my stomach drop.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled and she nodded smiling.

"You are okay. I just thin we need to slow down."

"Ok." I replied relieved.

"I like you a lot." She whispered grabbing my dishes and carrying them to the kitchen. I stood up and followed her.

"I like you too. You're not like any girl I've ever dated." I said honestly.

"Thank you." She said turning around to face me. We looked into each others eyes until my phone started to ring in my pocket.

"Sorry." I mouthed before looking at the ID. "Hi Ed,"

"Hey, what you doing?" he asked and I felt myself grit my teeth.

"I'm on a date dude." I said.

Ed's voice sounded apologetic as he said, "I'll talk to you later sorry, man."

"It's okay, Ed." I replied hanging up and looking at Rosie.

"What do you want to do now?" I asked and she got a thoughtful look on her face.

"Do you want to play a board game?" I nodded and she excitedly walked past me to pull out a stack of games. We chose Life and Clue and played until my dad called to tell me I had to come home. Not wanting the night to end, Rosie drove me back to the mall so I could get my car and with a short kiss we said goodbye.

For the five nights following we went out to dinner and talked on the phone and before I knew it it was Christmas Eve. I went to sleep realizing that I wasn't dreading the next day and that I was in face looking forward to it. I woke up to a text from Rosie saying Merry Christmas and that she would be over at ten. I smiled and walked out of my room to wake up my dad, but when I walked past the kitchen I saw him making coffee.

"Merry Christmas, Dad." I said cheerfully.

He looked at me confused and said, "Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?"

"Ha ha." I said taking the mug he held out for me.

"I'm serious Carter you're never this happy on Christmas. Why now?" he asked as we sat down at the table.

"Rosie." I answered simply.

"Hmm. That makes sense." He let it drop and instead asked, "I get to meet her today don't I?" I nodded and I heard a "finally," under his breath. I ignored him and sipped my coffee. We finished drinking our cups just as the doorbell rang. I answered it hoping it was Rosie, but was still happy to see it was Ed.

"Hey, Merry Christmas." I exclaimed pulling him into a hug. He looked confused as he shot a look at me dad.

"Rosie has corrupted her." He replied shrugging. I laughed and walked with Ed and my dad to the tree. We opened the presents and the boys had started tinkering by the time that Rosie showed up.

"Merry Christmas." I said answering the door and pulling her into a short kiss. I grabbed her hand and we walked into the living room. "Dad Ed this is Rosie. Rosie this is my dad and best friend Ed." They shook hands and the guys left to make breakfast.

"I bought you this she said sheepishly and for the first time I noticed a present in her hand. I looked at her sadly.

"I didn't think we were exchanging gifts. I didn't get you anything I'm sorry."

She smiled and replied, "Meeting you was my present now open it." She handing me small present wrapped in red with a gold bow on it. I unwrapped it quickly to find the same stuffed dog I had shown her in the toy store.

"Rosie, I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything besides thank you. When you told me you still thought about the one you had as a child I knew I had to get it for you. "Thank you I love it" I replied looking at it before pulling her into another kiss.

When we had pulled apart Ed came out of the kitchen to tell us that my dad wanted us to help him. I told Rosie to go ahead and that I'd be there in a minute and as I watched her follow Ed I realized I had missed out on some pretty important things by being a Grinch on Christmas. I smiled as I stood up to place my dog on the couch and meet the most important people in the kitchen and while I was walking I noticed out of the corner of my eye my mom sitting in her favorite chair giving me the thumbs up, but when I looked again she was gone. I knew I'd seen her and knew that after years of hating Christmas I had finally found a reason to love it.


End file.
